A really beautiful day with my parents along the Stateline trail! Great views in all directions! On the way back, since I was in the area, I decided to summit Graves Peak, Gold Crown Peak and Oregon Peak. Illinois Peak can be reached easily on trail from all four directions - Cascade Pass, Freezout Pass, Hoodoo Pass, and St. Joe Lake.

Dennis Poulin and I were about 2/3rds up the mountain when we started hearing wolves communicating with each other. It sounded like three or four and when Dennis made a wolf type call, he was answered back immediately. It was weird to hear wolves like that so close but an indication that the wolves are definitely making headway in Montana/Idaho. The hike to the peak was fairly straightforward and the wolves just added to the flavor of the area.

I found this hike using a Montana hiking book (I'm from Ohio and spent the summer in Helena). I do not know what Freezeout Pass is, I parked at Cascade Pass right on the state line at the top of the ridge, part of the Stateline Trail. I went by myself and hiked 2.5 hours to the the summit of Illinois Peak. It was a hot July day, mid-90s as much of the summer was this year. There were still a few snow fields on the side of the mountain though. The only wildlife I saw was a very nice-sized buck on the trail. I made plenty of noise, however, being by myself. While driving to the pass I saw what appeared to be a fisher cross the road, I could be wrong. I was disappointed to find the ledger was not at the summit, but I did see the crosses mentioned. Great views of some alpine lakes. Did not see any other individuals on the trail and the only tracks other than my own were that of some moose. After a nice rest on the summit it took me just 1.5 hours to reach the parking lot. Overall, great, rather easy hike.

Road blocked by trees and snow. Parked near Gildersleeve Mine. Patches of snow to Freezeout then 2-6 feet of snow the rest of the way except for a short section of the single track that had melted out. I had snowshoes but the snow was hard enough that I didn't have to use them.
Talked to the family that owns the Gildersleeve Mine and they said they welcome drop in visitors (stay away from the shaft!). Lots of historical pictures and they told me the two crosses on the summit are for their relatives.

We walked the trail from Freezeout Pass. It was cold and windy that day. We then went down to St. Joe Lake and caught cutthroats non-stop for the couple hours we were there. There were fresh wolf tracks on the ridge just south of the summit.

Hardest part about this hike was finding a Forest Service Road that wasn't closed due to the forest fires. Came up from the Montana side and then northwest to Freezeout Pass. After hiking the peak I drove south into Idaho. Weather was nice. I had the peak all to myself. A few miles southeast of here I got a good closeup view of a helicopter dumping water on a burning tree.

Climbed this summit on a couple occasions over the past three years, including the route following the St. Joe River Trail and up from St. Joe Lake, which incidently has incredible alpine cutthroat fishing. Nothing overly spectacular about this hulking summit, but the wildlife as in most of the Bitteroot Mountain range is ever present. Most I know use this summit as a side trip when fishing the lakes in the region.